Preview: CSK vs NSW

Second lowest on Net Run Rate, and joint lowest on points - the Chennai Super Kings are finding themselves in an unfamiliar spot in a Twenty20 competition. IPL 2010, Champions League 2010 and IPL 2011 - it's been an uninterrupted run of success, but ever since India's tour of England, teams led by MS Dhoni have not quite had the same run.

However, despite being at the bottom of Group A, Chennai Super Kings still have a chance to proceed to the next stage as their pool heads into its final round of matches with no team still assured of a semifinal berth. Their opponents, New South Wales, are considerably more comfortably placed, and have a better shot at making the final four.

Chennai Super Kings: While the team can consider itself unlucky during its defeat to Mumbai Indians, with Lasith Malinga playing a freakish knock, they had their share of luck against Cape Cobras, when the won the match after looking out of it for large parts. Chennai's batting has always been its stronger suit, and the problem for them in this tournament is that it hasn't clicked. The one time a batsman came up with a good knock, they won a match. However, other than Dwayne Bravo's cameo against the Cobras, there hasn't been much excellence in batting from Chennai, and that is what they need to address before their final league match.

New South Wales: The team from Australia have witnessed a steady improvement as the tournament has gone on. They lost their first match - against Cape Cobras - rather handily. They then squeaked through in a Super Over finish against Trinidad and Tobago, with luck going their way. And then they beat Mumbai Indians by a comfortable enough margin even after a top order failure. New South Wales' bowling has been better than their batting in the tournament so far, though all that could change if their top order of Shane Watson and David Warner fires in any match. On paper, New South Wales are amongst the most balanced teams, but they need their batters to fire to translate that into on-field performances.

Qualification Scenarios:

A lot depends on the match that will happen immediately before this one, between Cape Cobras and Trinidad and Tobago. If the Cobras win, then Chennai has no chance of qualifying, no matter how well they win since both Cobras and Mumbai Indians will be on 5 points. If Trinidad and Tobago win and then Chennai win, then T&T, Chennai and New South Wales will all be on 4 points and it will come down to Net Run Rates - in which T&T are leading right now.

For New South Wales, a win will take them straight through, while a loss will almost certainly eliminate them since their Net Run Rate of +0.04 is not too high. Therefore, the equation is much simpler for the Aussie team.

The bad news from Chennai's point of view is that scattered thunderstorms are forecast, and if points are shared, then Chennai will be eliminated. If both matches have no result, then too, Chennai will have no way to qualify, while New South Wales will be in with a shot even if both matches are rained out.